Significant Events Of The Tamil Genocide
By: Tasha Jeromeanton
Sayanthan was a normal man enjoying tea with his teacher’s family. There had recently been shell bombings in the area and they both needed a break after helping all the injured they could. While relaxing he played with his teacher’s kids, one of which wanted his help fetching a toy bound by ribbon. To stop her from bothering their guest, the teacher took his daughter to go get the object. The teacher and his daughter both died on the spot. Sayanthan later learned that the toy turned out to be a cluster-bomb, the ribbon added to specifically target children.
This horrible story, along with many others, were common to Tamil people living in Sri Lanka from 1956 and 2009. Despite this many people, including those with Tamil heritage may wonder, “What is the Tamil Genocide?” To answer that question one would need to go back to 1795, when Tamils lived in the North and East, while Sinhalese people occupied the South. They ruled as separate kingdoms until 1833 when the British captured the island, renaming it Ceylon and joining the kingdoms together. Sri Lanka stayed as a colony until the Mid-20 Century, Tamils received British favouritism in sectors such as education and work. This was partly due to the existence of Tamil communities in other British colonies, providing them with broader networks and opportunities. This perceived favoritism led to feelings of isolation and oppression among the Sinhalese population, creating an underlying tension that would surface after independence.
Following World War II the British Empire began to recede, while a movement for greater autonomy and self-rule gained momentum in Ceylon. In 1946 the Soulbury Constitution was created, it laid the groundwork for a parliamentary democracy in Ceylon, established a strong executive branch led by a Prime Minister, and tried to aim at protecting the rights of minority communities within the ethnically diverse nation. On the 4th of February 1948 Ceylon achieved independence from British rule and became an independent nation within the British
Commonwealth as the Dominion of Ceylon while maintaining strong economic and political ties with Britain, yet the British monarch remained the head of state.
Finally in 1972 the British had fully left all control back to the people of the land. The country’s name was officially changed from Ceylon to Sri Lanka, and the new constitution established Sri Lanka as a republic, replacing the British monarch with a President as the head of state. This move signified a complete break from the formal vestiges of British colonial rule. It was a great Pride for the people at the time and in another timeline could have fostered broader inclusivity and unity with the people of Sri Lanka. Subsequently after Sri Lanka’s independence, the Sinhalese, who formed the majority, gradually gained control of the upper ranks of government. This shift in power led to the implementation of policies that increasingly ostracized the Tamil population.
There was a growing sentiment among the Sinhalese majority to assert their cultural and linguistic identity. Which is where the Sinhala only act of 1956 comes into play, it aimed to change Sri Lanka’s official language to only Sinhala and disregard Tamil. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, who became Prime Minister that year, created the bill to empower the majority and rectify the perceived imbalance created during British rule, where English proficiency had given certain advantages to minorities, including Tamils. Despite significant opposition from both Tamil political parties and leftist who advocated for equality between Sinhala and Tamil, the Sinhala Only Bill was passed with majority support. Tamils were treated as second-class citizens in their own country, proficiency in Sinhala became a prerequisite for many government jobs and accessing state services. Thousands of Tamil civil servants were either pushed out of their positions or faced significant barriers to promotion due to their lack of Sinhala language skills. Government forms and correspondence were also increasingly produced in Sinhala, creating difficulties for Tamil speakers.
Tensions continued to rise between the Sri Lankan Government and Tamil people, leading to another ethical issue in the form of The Standardization Policy, implemented in 1971 by the
Sinhalese-led government. It aimed to address an “imbalance” in university admissions, particularly in science and medical faculties by introducing different qualifiers for university admissions based on the language of the entrance exam. Tamil students were required to score significantly higher marks than Sinhalese students for admission to the same faculties, even when taking the exam in English. For example, in 1971, the qualifying mark for medical faculties was 250 for Tamil students but only 229 for Sinhalese students. The following year introduced The District Quota System of 1972 which allocated university places for students based on both ethnicity and marks. Due to both policies the number of Tamil students admitted to universities drastically reduced, particularly in competitive fields like medicine and engineering. Tamil representation in science faculties fell from 35.3% in 1970 to 20.9% in 1974. It penalized Tamil students for their academic achievements and created an uneven playing field based on ethnicity.
The atrocities didn’t stop there as on May 31st, 1981 the Jaffna Public Library, a significant archive of Tamil literature and heritage, was set on fire by Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored mobs along with Eelanadu newspaper and many other homes and shops across Jaffna town. The fire destroyed over 95,000 unique and irreplaceable items, including Tamil palm leaves with ancient text (ola), manuscripts, parchments, books, magazines, and newspapers. The library building itself was an impressive structure inspired by ancient Dravidian architecture and was one of the largest libraries in Asia. Some of the destroyed texts, such as the Yalpanam Vaipavamalai (a history of Jaffna), were the only known copies in existence, making their loss particularly devastating and irreplaceable. Witness accounts, such as that of author Nancy Murray, described “uniformed security men and plainclothes thugs” carrying out “well organised acts of destruction.” The fire continued unchecked for two nights and despite attempts by the Tamil community to memorialize the event by preserving some of the burnt wreckage, the Sri Lankan government allegedly insisted on the complete rebuilding of the library, erasing visible signs of the destruction.
Throughout the year of 1983 there had been increasing violence towards the Tamil community. They were facing increasing discrimination, harassment and violence, including at universities, hospitals and government offices. Many were wrongfully arrested by the Sri Lankan Government and others went missing after encounters with the authorities only to be found dead days later. These events continued until the July of 1983, when the Anti-Tamil Pogrom or Black July erupted. A Sinhala mob who managed to get their hands on voter registration lists, took the lives of at least 3,000 Tamils. They also destroyed 18,000 homes, 5,000 businesses, and displaced 90,000-150,000 Tamils. The horrors continued from July 23rd to the 30th. Seven days. Tamils were burned alive, patients were attacked in their hospital beds, children executed in front of their families. Following the massacre over 500,000 Tamils fled their homelands.
The most Brutal phase of the Tamil Genocide was Mullivaikkal, ever since Black July, the Government of Sri Lanka had been dropping a series of aerial bombardments onto Tamil neighbourhoods and cities. The bombings were done in an attempt to destroy the strongholds of the Tamil Resistance, who were painted as an enemy of the nation by the Government. Their final base was located in Mullivaikkal, a small village situated on the northeastern coast of Sri Lanka, the Mullaitivu district. On May 18, 2009 The Government of Sri Lanka urged Tamil people fleeing the war at Mullivaikkal to go to designated “No Fire Zones” with the promise of safety. However, these zones came under heavy and repeated shelling by the Sri Lankan military. The use of chemical weapons and rocket launchers was also reported to have been used against tens of thousands of innocent Tamil civilians. The true number of casualties is unknown but the U.N reported at least 40,000-70,000 murdered.
The Sri Lankan Government continues to deny the events that transpired. Mullivaikkal, remains a significant point of contention and deep pain for the Tamil community both within Sri Lanka and across the global diaspora. This ongoing denial often involves the suppression or obscuring of evidence and narratives that contradict evidence the world has seen. Furthermore, the
Sri Lankan Government’s designation of May 18th as “Victory Day” is perceived by many Tamils not as a celebration of peace, but as a deliberate and insensitive act that not only minimizes the immense loss of civilian life but also glorifies the military defeat of the Resistance, the organization the Tamil people sought protection for decades of state-sponsored discrimination and violence. This stance adds a profound layer of insult to the injury inflicted during the war, effectively silencing the voices and experiences of the victims.
In stark contrast, Canada has taken a different approach to acknowledging the historical suffering of the Tamil people and regcognizes January as Tamil Heritage Month and the week of May 18th as Tamil Genocide Awareness Week. This empathetic act signifies a growing international understanding and acceptance of the Tamil perspective on the events of the war, particularly the immense civilian casualties and the circumstances surrounding the final months. This recognition provides a crucial platform for remembrance, education, and the validation of Tamil experiences that have long been marginalized or denied within Sri Lanka itself. For Tamils around the world, this acknowledgement offers a glimmer of hope that the truth will eventually be recognized on a wider scale. The international community’s role in encouraging accountability and reconciliation remains vital in this ongoing pursuit of justice and closure for the victims and survivors of the Tamil Genocide.
References
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Khan, Nafeez. “Sinhala Only Bill- Act 1956, Reversals and its outcomes.”
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